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I have an Ibanez AEL20-TRS electric acoustic guitar that is really nice but there is a problem. The electric part is not working. Beyond changing the battery I cannot get any sound from it when plugged in. I've taken the entire electronics out of it and here's what I have found.

With an amp turned on and the guitar plugged in, if tap on the jack output wire which is directly connected to the preamp I get the tapping through the amplifier but if I tap the pickup itself I get nothing.

*Disclosure* I am not an electronics guru by any means and want to know how I can test the pickup wire to see if there is a break somewhere in the wiring OR if the connection to the preamp is damaged. Is there a test with a multimeter I can perform to see where the problem may lie? Before I decide to spend money on a new preamp, which I doubt I'll do only because the guitar cost almost as much as a new preamp. I also don't think its the preamp only b/c I can get sound from the tap experiment.

Im by no means an expert on this, but from countless hours of jacking around with the EMG installation in my guitar, Might i suggest seeing if it has a stereo jack, and checking the wiring on it? Also you can to a resistance check on the wires i guess to check for continuity between the pickup, preamp, and wiring harness/output jack. You might be able to also do a voltage check from the 9v battery when turned on._________________Seeing all the painfully intricate and costly subtleties put into a guitar go unrecognized by the average individual kills me inside.

Joe,
Does the guitar have the battery box with the output jack 1/4" and XLR? If so that part is a likely culprit. I have replaced a few of these in my shop.

You can remove it with 4 screws. Check the battery contact springs to make sure they're not corroded. Also you can stretch them a bit to make sure they are making contact. If that doesn't work, replace the box.

Joe,
This is different from what I was picturing. If you are tapping the wire at the jack connection, it sounds like the jack itself is ok.

Not much to go wrong with the pickup itself.

Check all the connections going to the preamp board-like the battery wires. Check the voltage at the board where the battery wires are to make sure there is 9 volts there.

Check the pickup wires (hot and ground) and the wires from the board to the jack. The jack has 2 wires for hot and ground and also a 3rd connection that switches on the battery when a cord is plugged in.

If there's something in the preamp itself, those would be tough to repair. It's all surface mount stuff.

If it turns out to be the preamp and you don't want to spend big bucks on a new one, you could put a lower priced system in it, like the AG series passive system or a Matrix Infinity. Or you could go with a soundhole pickup as well.

Alan, the pickup wire that connects to the preamp is only a 2 wire system . The contact in the preamp only have 2 pin connectors(male end). The female end is connected to the copper wire (pickup) in the picture. That little connector attached is the female end. I will try and test it today and let you know what I come up with. I am hoping its not the preamp but it very well could be.

The copper mesh thing is the pickup?
I haven't seen that before.
But I only have experience with the Fishman under saddle piezo transducer.

First thing I would do is check the continuity of each wire from one end to the other.
A lot of meters have a continuity checker that you push a button then the meter will beep when a connection is made.

Check each wire.

As far as the pickup goes, I don't know what type that is, so it may not register as anything when checked.

In my experience with the under saddle types, the jack is usually where the problem is, but that is mainly because that is where the amp is.

But from your description I would guess either the pickup has a broken wire or the pickup is shot.

Then of course it could be the amp.

The best sounding setup I ever heard was from a guitar a guy had that had the piezo under saddle transducer and a microphone inside the sound box.
Can't remember if it was a Fishman or LR Baggs. But it sounded very good, unlike the typical piezo buzzy sound.
He could balance between the piezo and mic.
The guitar was a Goodman too so it sounded good to begin with._________________Tom

The pickup is the copper wire that goes under the saddle. I removed all of the electronics to try and pinpoint the problem. I just restrung it and it actually a decent sounding acoustic. If all else fails I may just have to leave it be and just play it. I'd rather mic an acoustic anyway rather than plug it in but I'd like to have the option of playing it through an amp at rehearsal or jamming.

The best sounding setup I ever heard was from a guitar a guy had that had the piezo under saddle transducer and a microphone inside the sound box.
Can't remember if it was a Fishman or LR Baggs. But it sounded very good, unlike the typical piezo buzzy sound.
He could balance between the piezo and mic.
The guitar was a Goodman too so it sounded good to begin with.

Tom,
This sounds like the Fishman Ellipse Matrix Blend. I have installed a few of these and they sound really good. The preamp mounts just inside the soundhole. No need to cut holes in the guitar. You can control the balance between the mic and the undersaddle pickup.